I am going to have to agree with gunner on this. I was a discus champion in high school along with weight lifting. It is definitely heavy weight that will stimulate those fast twitch muscles the most, aka get those drives revved up. If you want to get really into it, you bulk in the winter, and cut in the spring for disc golf. If you could only do 3 exercises to improve your game: hang cleans, pull ups, and jump rope.

Well, it is winter again. And this wasn't so far down the page that it isn't worth simply bumping. So what are your winter workout plans?

I'm presently living, as usual for me, 40+ minutes from a gym - presently in the mountains in SoCal - so many of the workouts I used to do aren't feasible. Instead I'm doing a bodyweight/calisthenics program based around six primary exercises. With each exercise I'm doing progression training - starting simple and working my way up to something far more difficult. The six core progressions are: push ups, pull ups, squats, bridges, leg raises, and handstand push ups. Ultimately the goal is to work up to single arm push ups, single arm pull ups, single leg squats, backbend to bridge and back up, straight v-raises, and unsupported handstand push ups. At present I am far further along in the pull up, push up, and squat progressions than the other three - by virtue of already having been doing those extensively prior to jumping into this.

The goal is to not only strengthen the muscles, but also the tendons. Combined they work almost every part of the body. I'm using the progressions available in a book called Convict Conditioning. I could scrounge up the link to the .PDF form of the book if anyone wants to check it out. The workouts are also quick, quick enough to take up well under an hour each day. Overall it is perfect for me being broke, in the middle of nowhere, and short on free time.

vtbuzzz wrote:Right now I'm finishing up the Insanity program then I will begin training for a 50k running race. But I'm mostly working on my putting and touch shots this winter

50K isn't too bad. Its a grind more than anything - if you have the mental willpower you can complete one without much training even. Are you planning on actually racing, or are you just completing it to say that you've completed an ultra?

[/quote]50K isn't too bad. Its a grind more than anything - if you have the mental willpower you can complete one without much training even. Are you planning on actually racing, or are you just completing it to say that you've completed an ultra?[/quote]Just doing it to say I did it and then to move on to 50 milers hopefully. I've never ran a marathon before and only one half.

Recently sent Avery Jenkins an email asking if he could briefly go over his off-season training routine, how much time he spends in the gym as opposed to the field, etc. Took a few months but he actually sent me a response...Not only is Avery a total gym-nut but he also has a degree in Human Physiology, anyways lots of good stuff here I had to share...

"Matt,

Thanks for writing and great question!!

The Season is now winding down for me at this point and I'm very excited to get back to lifting & training for next Season. I just started back at the gym this past week, but gradually working back into the routine starting with Yoga and Running with some lighter weights.

In the Off-Season, I try to keep up with Running and other such Cardio, but I do a regular winter routine of Strength Training with Freeweights and Bowflex in the off-season. Keeping in shape is the number way to extend your playing years and performance on the Course.

I do lots of Shoulder Presses, Bicep Curls, Bench Press (Push-ups) and Ab workouts when traveling on the Road throughout a majority of the year but there's nothing that compares to doing heavy weights when you don't have to worry about throwing for awhile. I do weight machines that do overall body strengthening and then later focus on machines that concentrate on strengthening the Arms, Shoulders and Back.

It's best to strengthen your Shoulders, Core and Back as those are places that take the most torque when throwing. The Shoulders and Triceps generate the most power for throwing distance shots, so make sure that concentrate on strengthening those. The Core helps to generate speed when throwing and helps with overall body flexibility. A strong Core will protect your lower Back as well as your hips and the Shoulders are very vulnerable to injury if not properly strengthened.

But you need to keep in mind that Disc Golf is not one of those sports where you have to Big & Strong to be a great player, trust me, I wish that it was. Disc Golf is more about Core Strength, Flexibility and Speed when it comes to throwing, too much Bulk can cause deficiency in accuracy and control. In this game, it's about power when throwing distance & tee shots, but about touch when approaching & putting.

So I would say, be sure to concentrate your training on your Shoulders, Arms and Core if you are looking to increase your distance. Also work on staying flexible to maintain accuracy and control to elevate your game to the next level.

And of course, always stretch before and after playing rounds of Disc Golf.

Best of Luck with your training this Off-Season and see you on the Course!!

I think that a powerclean would be a very good exercise for disc golf. It is all about explosiveness and speed.

I disagree with avery about using isolation machines though. isolating each muscle with a machine is pretty dumb. almost every movement the human body does involves more than one muscle, never isolated muscles. muscle should be trained together (with the same exercise) because that is how they naturally move.

I cant really think of a good machine that does overall body strengthening.

Triflusal wrote:I think that a powerclean would be a very good exercise for disc golf. It is all about explosiveness and speed.

I disagree with avery about using isolation machines though. isolating each muscle with a machine is pretty dumb. almost every movement the human body does involves more than one muscle, never isolated muscles. muscle should be trained together (with the same exercise) because that is how they naturally move.

I cant really think of a good machine that does overall body strengthening.

Truth. Any machine exercise I can duplicate with free weights, I do the free weights. Always been told this is better for your range of motion as well, as most machines restrict your range of motion.

However I think Avery was suggesting machines as an alternative to freeweights especially when you spend a lot of time throwing.

Overall I agree though Freeweights>Machines. Bowflex option has me intrigued though. Nautilus used to base their headquarters across the river in Vancouver,WA. Heard a lot of good things about them from some really high-level athletes.

To me it's not strength you want, but power. Yes they go hand in hand but are completely different when looking at actual effects on performance. Think of strength as slow (lifting something heavy, pushing an object) where your movements are independent of velocity. For actions like jumping and throwing, you need power because you need to generate a certain amount of force quickly (the moment right before you release the disc).

In conjunction with a regular strength routine (pull ups, bench press, shoulder raises, etc) try some medicine ball throws. Get a lighter ball (2-3 kgs) and rotate at your shoulders, not your waist, and emulate your backhand with the medicine ball in both hands. Relax and focus on exploding your arms across your body and throw the ball against a sturdy wall. Do the same with slams (ball in both hands, throwing it staight down using both shoulders and abs to create force) and a side arm type of motion again focusing on rotation of hips and shoulders, not your waist. With the sidearm style you can use 3-6 kg balls, and always do both sides. Just because you are left/right handed, doesn't mean you don't balance because no balance = more injuries (the same reason you don't want to only do shoulders/arms.)

For that reason I like to do the throws with multi muscle exercises, because our bodies are a kinetic chain. Throws don't only use one muscle, and our body doesn't work as one muscle. You gain strength by not only building muscle, but by building the timing/connection between those muscles. Why do you think you can have a smaller person throw really far? Because they can generate a split second of power, and thats all you need.

*Also, just because someone has a "Human Physiology" degree doesn't mean they understand "exercise physiology/science". They are two different things.